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| News Archives | Vista Palo Alto News | |||||||
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2010-2011 News Past Archives |
December 20, 2010
Equity Investments Unit sells 60% of its VistaShareTM holdings in leading remote access technology company LogMeIn
(NASDAQ LOGM) @ $45.6700 per share. LogMeIn has been our best performing investment this year in terms of total returns, and we project it to continue to outperform the broader market for years to come. The decision to sell a portion of our positions in this investment was based on a combination of tax implications and its movement in the past few months.
Equity Investments Unit added to its positions in Chinese eCommerce company Mecox Lane Limited (MCOX) @ $7.3780 and $9.1700 per share. Mecox Lane announced Q3 2010 earnings after the close of market on 11/29, which showed net income of $797,404 on $55.3M revenue compared to net income of $230,217 on $40.7M revenue of Q3 2009. Shares fell below IPO price of $11 for the first time in highly volatile morning trading.
Equity Investments Unit sells 80% of VistaSharesTM in South San Francisco based cancer drug research company Excelixis (EXEL) @ $5.9800 per share. Shares in Excelixis jumped 27% in early trading after rising 8% previous day. Share price increase was due to positive Phase 2 trial data of XL184 for prostate and ovarian cancer.
Equity Investments Unit initiates new investments in cloud computing optimization provider F5 Networks, Inc. (FFIV) @ $115.93 per share, and a recent IPO shares in Chinese eCommerce company Mecox Lane Limited (MCOX) @ $15.17 per share.
Equity Investments Unit sells all of its positions in natural gas exploration company Exco Resources (XCO) @ $19.50 per share.
Exco Resources received a proposed takeover bid that caused the shares to jump 32% today.
Equity Investments Unit sells all non-VistaShareTM positions in graphics chip manufacturer nVidia (NVDA) @ $12.1805 per share.
Equity Investments Unit also sold most of its positions in pharmaceutical company Pfizer
(PFE) @17.3600 per share. Even with high yield dividends factored in, Pfizer has underperformed the boader market, and Vista Palo Alto will seek to exit all non-VistaShareTM positions in Pfizer in the next few years.
Equity Investments Unit adds to its VistaShareTM positions in credit card transactions provider Visa (NYSE V) @ $67.6996 per share. Vista Palo Alto invested in Visa since its IPO, and its shares have outperformed the market, and the company has shown impressive improvements in profitability. Recent decline in share prices is due to heightend concerns over regulatory changes and potential future competition from mobile handset based payment systems. Vista Palo Alto believes these factors will not change Visa's growth potential and profitability, and we strongly disagrees with several analysts that have recently lowered their ratings on Visa.
Equity Investments Unit closes volatile July with several key investments and some exits.
Equity Investments Unit adds to its positions in business development company
Apollo Investment Corporation
(NASDAQ AINV) @ $8.9290 per
share, cancer drug developer Exelixis Inc
(NASDAQ EXEL) @ $3.1399 per share,
and graphics chip maker nVidia Corporation
(NASDAQ NVDA) @ $10.1500 per share
Equity Investments Unit purchases shares in Tesla Motors
(TSLA) @ $17.7500 per share, shortly after its IPO debut.
It also sold to cover basis after a 14.75% intra-day gain @ $20.3700 per share. As usual, amount gained was retained
as VistaSharesTM, and additional orders were placed at $17, $16, $15, and $14. Tesla shares closed the day
at $23.89, which is over 40% above the offer price of $17.
David H. Kim, President/CEO of Vista Palo Alto has been elected and confirmed to serve a 1-year term as the President of
Korean-American Chamber of Commerce - Silicon Valley (KACC-SV). The term begins
July 1, 2010 and ends on June 30, 2011. Mr. Kim was the president-elect for the last year serving as the First Vice
President of KACC-SV. The Korean-American Chamber of Commerce - Silicon Valley, is a 501c(6) non-profit organization, that
has been serving the South Bay for 35 years. KACC-SV promotes and facilitates business activities in the Korean-American
community in Silicon Valley. For more information on KACC-SV, please visit their website at
www.kacc-sv.org.
eCommerce Business Unit enters Beta Phase for its first iOS (iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch) App. Currently Version 0.91, the
application is slated to be submitted to Apple for review within one to two month(s). App is in stealth mode, and will
be a paid application at a price range of $0.99-$1.99 and will most likely debut in the iTunes App Store as a Free for
Limited Time pricing model. As part of launch promotion, company may be an official sponsor of the upcoming K-PoP Dance
Contest (website under construction at http://kpopdancecontest.com) planned by local Korean TV station KEMS TV and
Kollaboration San Francisco.
Equity Investments Unit added to its positions in natural gas exploration company EXCO Resources Inc (XCO) @ $15.7500 per share.
Equity Investments Unit adds to its VistaShareTM positions in remote-connectivity solutions provider
LogMeIn Inc (NASDAQ
LOGM) @ $27.4400 per share. Vista Palo Alto invested in LogMeIn since its IPO in July 2009 @ $16.25 & $20.11 and
have reaped benefits of shares outperforming the overall market. Current share prices are near 52-week high, but Vista
Palo Alto believes in its long-term performance, especially in light of its LogMeIn Ignition for iPhone/iPad consistently
ranking in top 10 highest grossing apps in the Apple iTunes App Store. LogMeIn Ignition turns iPad and iPhone 4 into serious
business productivity machines, and the incredible growth in demand for those devices will eventually reflect in LogMeIn's
bottom line, which results in higher earnings per share as gross margin for the app business is much higher compared to their
other businesses.
Equity Investments Unit adds to its VistaShareTM positions in cancer drug developer Exelixis Inc
(NASDAQ EXEL) @ $4.1898 per share and @3.9500 per share. Equity Investments Unit added to its positions in biopharmaceutical company Medivation Inc
(MDVN) @ $10.1498 per share. Equity Investments Unit added to its positions in natural gas exploration company EXCO Resources Inc
(XCO) @ $17.2500 per share. Equity Investments Unit purchased shares in biopharmaceutical company Pozen Inc
(POZN) @ $7.2998 per share.
Equity Investments Unit adds to its positions in business development company
Apollo Investment Corporation (NASDAQ AINV) @ $10.2490 per
share. We recently acquired positions in AINV and set additional orders @ $8.2500, and after today's purchase, set additional
purchase orders @ $9.2500. Vista Palo Alto strongly believes in Apollo Investments' long-term performance and its ability to
pay out dividends.
Equity Investments Unit revised and executed previously set target in bank holding company Goldman Sachs Group
(NYSE GS) @ $133.7000. Previously set target for initial purchase was $130.2500 and follow-up purchase
was $115.25, which has been revised to $120.25.
Equity Investments Unit sells and covers basis in energy producer BP PLC
(NYSE BP) @ $32.1500, one day after the perchase with a 7.5% gain.
Equity Investments Unit target of 7.5% gain is typical for high-risk investments, and usually takes several months, but
the recent share volatility has triggered the sale in just a day. The 7.5% gain has been held as VistaSharesTM
and the additional purchase order set at $23.2500 is still open. There is also a good chance that another order be placed
at or below $29.9500 which is still viewed as extreme value, but with relatively high level of risk.
Equity Investments Unit purchases shares in troubled energy producer BP PLC
(NYSE BP) @ $29.95 per share and set additional purchase
target at $23.2500, which is near 15-year low for the company. BP's intraday 14% decline came as a result of fear that
the company may halt dividend payouts (at over 10% yield at current prices) due to political pressure.
Equity Investments Unit executes previously entered purchase orders in graphics chip maker nVidia Corporation
(NASDAQ NVDA) @ $11.1500 per share and medical device developer Boston Scientific Corporation
(NYSE BSX) @ $5.5500 per share.
Equity Investments Unit adds to its VistaShareTM positions in business development company Apollo Investment Corporation
(NASDAQ AINV) @ $10.0780 per share and Dutch banking giant
ING Group (NYSE ING) @ $7.4980 per share.
Equity Investments Unit also set price targets for Apollo Investment Corporation @ $8.25 and ING Group at $6.25. Today's purchase price of Apollo Investment Corporation
was at P/E ratio of 5 and dividend yield of 11.11%, which represents incredible value if financials continue the equity recovery and the dividend payout stabilizes or increases.
Equity Investments Unit purchases shares in medical device developer Boston Scientific Corporation
(NYSE BSX) @ $6.0680 per share and set additional purchase target at $5.5500, which is near 15-year low for the company. Boston Scientific's
downfall came after its purchase of Guidant and Guidant's FDA forced recall of implantable cardioverter defibrillators for failing to file proper paperwork with
the Food and Drug Administration on certain modifications.
Equity Investments Unit adds to its VistaShareTM positions in graphics chip maker nVidia Corporation
(NASDAQ NVDA) @ $12.1395 per share and Dutch banking giant
ING Group (NYSE ING) @ $7.6683 per share.
Equity Investments Unit also set price targets for nVidia Corporation @ $11.15 & $10.15 and bank holding company Goldman Sachs Group
(NYSE GS) @ $130.25 and $115.25. Vista Palo Alto currently has no position in Goldman Sachs Group and
its shares have been under pressure due to alleged fraud charges causing shares to trade at PE ratio below 6.
eCommerce Business Unit announces Vista Palo Alto's intent to enter the iPhone/iPad application development market for OS4 and beyond. Vista Palo Alto believes a significant eCommerce opportunity is created by Apple's upcoming iAd platform on iPhone OS4 available for iPhones and iPod Touch this summer and for the new iPad device this fall. We are currently investigating best practices for domestic and international application development for this platform using SDK 4.0 beta that was recently made available. "I think Steve Jobs' comment during his keynote sums it up nicely, 'Have you ever seen an ad like this? Anything even close?'", says David Kim, President of eCommerce Business Unit, "There isn't much money to be made by small businesses in internet services, but Apple's iPhone and iTunes platform is a whole different story." Vista Palo Alto may spin off this division of eCommerce if sufficient seed funding is raised, as this investment's risk/reward profile is drastically different from our current businesses and investments. To inquire about investing in iPhone/iPad applications business, please contact: info@vistapaloalto.com
Equity Investments Unit sells all non-VistaSharesTM of EOG Resources, Inc.(EOG) and 50% of holdings in Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index Fund (VYM). EOG Resources shares were purchased as part of Marcellus Share natural gas exploration initiative in January, which has shown solid returns recently. Vanguard High Dividend Yield Index Fund has also shown solid rebound along with the equity market, but current dividend yield of 2.75% can hardly qualify as high yield. Vista Palo Alto will seek to invest proceeds into other higher yielding investments with performance that seeks to track the S&P 500.
Equity Investments Unit purchases (executed on March 26, 2010) shares in San Francisco based biopharmaceutical company Medivation, Inc. (MDVN) @ $11.25 per share. Shares in MDVN traded as high as $40.49 earlier this month prior to the negative announcement regarding Phase 3 Trial of Medivation's Alzheimer's drug Dimebon on March 3rd, which caused MDVN shares to an incredible one-day fall to $13.10. At that time, Vista Palo Alto repurchased shares of Pfizer, the more stable partner of Dimebon Phase 3 Trial for Alzheimer's Disease, and placed a target price of Medivation at $11.25, which executed on March 26, 2010.
Equity Investments Unit sells all non-VistaSharesTM of CNX Gas Corporation (CXG). Shares were purchased as part of Marcellus Share natural gas exploration initiative at $30.63 per share on January 4, 2010. On Monday, March 22, 2010, CXG shares rose 22.9% after they reported record production at its Marcellus Shale well. "This is just a preview of things to come," said David Kim, President/CEO of Vista Palo Alto of its Marcellus Share gas exploration investments.
Equity Investments Unit purchases additional shares in United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) @ $8.10 per share. Vista Palo Alto believes natural gas supply will be stable or will increase, especially with new sources of unconventional production in shale gas, but demand will improve with increases in economic activities in manufacturing and construction. Natural gas prices are well below the demand picture, and shares of UNG has been driven down to unprecedented levels with little or no justification for the steep decline.
Equity Investments Unit repurchases shares in drugmaker Pfizer, Inc. (NYSE PFE) @ 17.3900 per share. Current P/E ratio is 14.18 with dividend yield of 4.10%. This transaction is a repurchase of shares sold on January 20, 2010 @ 19.9100 per share which represents a 13.1% discount. While it is not common for Vista Palo Alto to repurchase shares sold in drugmakers, the combination of failed Phase 3 Trial of Medivation's Alzheimer's drug Dimebon and the anticipation of $4B bid for German generic-drug maker Ratiopharm Group International has pressured the price significantly below the performance of S&P 500.
Equity Investments Unit purchases more assets in natural gas with a purchase of ETF shares in United States Natural Gas Fund (UNG) @ $8.98 per share. Vista Palo Alto believes natural gas supply will be stable or will increase, especially with new sources of unconventional production in shale gas, but demand will improve with increases in economic activities in manufacturing and construction. Natural gas prices are well below the demand picture, and shares of UNG has been driven down to unprecedented levels with little or no justification for the steep decline.
Electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors Inc. said Friday it plans to sell stock to the public.
Tesla Motors, based in Palo Alto, California, did not disclose in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission specifically how much it plans to raise.
Tesla did not disclose a date for when it plans to launch the IPO. Vista Palo Alto has been anticipating Tesla's IPO and plans to participate in the IPO.
Equity Investments Unit sells shares in The India Fund and Pfizer, Inc.
On January 19, 2009, unit unloads all non-VistaSharesTM in The India Fund (IFN) @ $32.50 per share.
Shares in The India Fund will be repurchased if and when the market value is trading 8% below the net asset value of the fund.
On January 20, 2010, unit unloads most of the holdings in in Pfizer, Inc. (NYSE PFE) @ 19.9100 per share.
Equity Investments Unit begins 2010 with investments in the following US based natural gas exploration companies:
CHESAPEAKE ENERGY
(CHK),
EOG RESOURCES INC
(EOG),
CNX GAS CORP
(CXG), and
EXCO RESOURCES INC
(XCO).
These investments specifically target the Marcellus Shale formation in the Appalachian Basin with a potential of
1,307 trillion cubic feet of recoverable natural gas.
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